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Summary of the Sermon by Pastor Irwan Fransiskus, at Bethany International Service, on Sunday, 6 Aug 2017.

Prayer of Jabez

The prayer of Jabez teaches us how to depend on God and to call upon Him.

1 Chronicles 4:9-10 – Jabez was more honourable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez saying, “Because I bore him with pain.” Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!” And God granted him what he requested.

Jabez’s mother gave birth to him in pain. She named her son “Jabez”, which means “pain.” Perhaps she led a painful life, so she decided to name her son “pain” literally. Jabez’s prayer is made up of four parts. First, Jabez asks God to bless him. Second, he asks God to enlarge his territory or increase his responsibility. Third, he prays that God will be with him and stay close. Lastly, Jabez asks that God keep him from harm so that he will be free from pain.

The Bible mentions that he was an honourable man because of his prayer.

1. Jabez asked God to bless him.Jabez understood that the blessings of Abraham in Genesis 12:2 – ask the Lord to bless us to glorify Him. Jabez understood the purpose of God’s blessings. Jacob wrestled with an angel at the Jabbok river until he was blessed (Genesis 32:26).

Power, fame, wealth, beauty and health cannot satisfy us. We can learn from the life of famous people like Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, Thierry Costa and Getulio Vargas. They did not find the meaning of life in their status, and these successful people ended up committing suicide.

2. Jabez prayed for God to enlarge his border so that God’s hands may be with Him.Jabez understood the prayer of Moses in Exodus 33:15 “If Your presence do not go with us, do not bring us from here”.

If the Lord is with us, His favour is also with us. It is very important to stay close to God and rely on His continued support and guidance throughout our life.

3. Jabez asked God to keep Him from harm. Jabez clearly knew and prayed specifically to the One who could protect him from evil and pain, 1 Chronicles 4:10 – Keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain. The Hebrew word for harm in this verse correlates with 1 Corinthians 10:1-11 – these are the examples of harm or “evil”.

How do we keep ourselves away from harm/evil? There are four examples of the word “harm/evil” in the Bible:

1. Idolatry – anything we love more than God is our idol. It could be our hobby, our occupation or even the love of chasing money (Ecclesiastes 5:9-10, Ephesians 5:5).

2. Sexual immorality is a sin we must avoid. We live in a world where society is experiencing moral degradation, where same sex marriage is legal in some countries. Genesis 49:2 records that Ruben slept with his stepmother (one of Jacob’s wives) and as a result Ruben was denied of his first-born birth right.

Lot and his daughters committed incest, and their two descendants from this relationship resulted in constant battles between the Israelites and the Moabites and Ammonites (Genesis 19:32).

3. Putting God to the test is to demand God to prove Himself to us in our own way. Pastor Mark Wolford, from the US State of Virginia, was bitten by a rattle snake and was killed during a church service for putting God to test. He was well-known for handling dangerous snakes in a test of faith. We need to practise godly discernment by not doing dangerous acts to demonstrate God’s protection upon us. When we view God through our doubt and demand something of Him as a way of determining whether or not He can be trusted, we are in danger of testing God.

In the Bible, there are examples of both acceptable and unacceptable kinds of testing God. It is acceptable to “test” God concerning tithes and offerings (we give because we have faith in Him), for example, but unacceptable when the test is to demand something from God to prove Himself to us because we lack faith in Him.

4. Grumbling is a harmful attitude and it is evil in the sight of God. Proverbs 20:19 It is that faith-inspired action of obedience that God loves. As seen in the example of Israel’s journey out of Egypt, they developed a habit of grumbling.

How do we value the love of Christ in our life? God has given us everything, even His precious blood on the Cross (John 3:16). There is no greater love than the love of Christ. Jacqueline Kennedy’s love letter to the British Ambassador to the US, was sold in an auction for a price for USD$190,000. The Bible is God’s love letter to us, and is priceless. Our food is to do the will of God and to accomplish His work, John 4:34. Let us work out our salvation and work for food that endures to eternal life (John 6:27).

At the end of the prayer of Jabez, it is clear that God approved of this faithful prayer by granting it. It is also important to see that Jabez was passionate in his plea to God: "He cried out to the God of Israel." God wants to hear that we need Him through passionate prayer.

The Summary of Sermon by Ps. Djohan Handojo at Bethany International Sevice on Sunday, 2 July 2017.

CHALLENGES FOR EVANGELISM

Pastor Djohan recently attended a conference at Wittenburg in Germany where the Reformation started by Martin Luther.

The conference discussed how to bring the Gospel for every person and challenges in sharing it. The gospel brings freedom and transforms life.

In sharing the gospel today, we faced several challenges :-

1. Ideology

People do not believe in God. 40% of the people in the Western world become atheist. They do not find God important in their lives.
2. Secularism

People look into the world and there is less emphasis of God in the society. In South East Asia, many people still have strong faith in God. We still find Christian schools, many Church services in the malls and hotels.

3. Moral

Today sexual disorder is considered normal and acceptable especially in the western world. The government in America and other western countries legalized the same-sex marriage. Even the schools are teaching it and educate the right to develop love and feelings beyond the gender which is gender disorientation.

(
James 1: 2-3) The world is constantly under temptation by the devil. Only the kingdom of God is unshakeable.

We are dealing with self centeredness. People have the tendency to become self centered. Some of us struggle with sin but Jesus is waiting for us to come back when we have gone astray in the world.
(2 Corinthians 5: 17-18) We are the new creation in Christ. It is important for us to walk in Christ every day. God will see us in a different way, God will see Christ who has redeemed us and see us as a new man or new woman in Christ.

When we are still living in the old self, the devil can attack us. When we live as a new man in Christ, the
devil cannot attack us. However, we can live a victorious life because God is in us.

(1 Corinthians 6 : 2 – 3) For us as believers, one day, we will reign and rule with Jesus. We will judge the world and the fallen angels.

Now, the Holy Spirit is in the world but one day the Holy Spirit will be taken away from the world. The world will turn into chaos.
(John 6:54- 55) Whoever eat of my flesh and drink of my blood remains in me, have the salvation and eternal life.

A book with title, The Bible of Automotive, contains an absolute guidelines and provisions for maintenance of a luxury car so that it can be treated well and properly. Of course, to achieve the maximum result, those who buy the guide book should read it well and then apply it, rather than putting it away and placing the book as a display on a bookshelf.

Apparently, the world admits that the Bible is a guide book of life to be read well, meditated every day and if the reader obeys and does what is written in it, then the maximum result will be obtained by the reader, an abundant life of God’s grace.

Therefore, it is true what was said by Moses and Joshua to keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful (Joshua 1:8).

In this life, we need a guide so that in everything that we do will be prosperous and successful. The Word of God will not give maximum, effective and efficient results if we do not read, say, meditate on it, and do it or we just put the Bible in the closet or on your mobile phone. But the word of God will become powerful when you read it, meditate it, say it and do it.

TODAY’S WORD: Deuteronomy 32:44-27, NKJV

44 So Moses came with Joshua the son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people. 45 Moses finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 and he said to them: “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe—all the words of this law. 47 For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess.”

TODAY’S VERSE TO REMEMBER:

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (Joshua 1:8)

TODAY’S ACTION:

Be aware that God is a God who speaks and the Word has a full of power and in order to prove that it is a powerful word, read, say, meditate and do it.

In the 1980s in Indonesia there appeared a lot of new rich people who suddenly become rich. There were many statements we heard: “My wealth is greatly so that I will never run out of money for seven generations.”

End of 1990s, many of suddenly rich wealthy entrepreneurs, slammed by the Asian crisis and the devaluation of the currency, so that we started to hear: “The debt that will not finish to be paid for seven generations.”

In the 2000s, many wealthy people (the officials) started to crash because of the government and the authorities were holding in investigation of the origin of wealth and strict sanctions.

God’s word today says that only the grace of God, we will prosper without a problem, which means we can enjoy it up to our descendants and forever. Even the Word of God in Ecclesiastes 2:26: “To the person who pleases Him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinners He gives the tasks of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” To those who lives are holy and pleasing to God, He give thoughtful wisdom and joy to enjoy what has been gathered. But to those who grieve God and do not holy, God will employ them to gather a wealth which will be given to those who love God.

Therefore, hear the word of God, and let us be careful to do God’s word so that whatever we do will be success and prosper.

TODAY’S WORD: Psalm 127:1-2

A Song of degrees for Solomon. Unless Jehovah builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless Jehovah keeps the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. 2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep.

If we do the will of God in our lives, then we will be like a trees planted along the riverbank of clean water, their leaves stay green and never stop producing fruits so that everything we do the Lord’s will make it success and prosper.

Prosperity with A Purpose by Ps Djohan Handojo, summarized by Sister Stella Ho

John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. And I have come to give them life and life in abundance.

God hears our prayers but sometimes we don’t receive God’s answers because of lack of faith, selfish/lustful or wrong motives, unforgiveness and hatred. Men should live wisely with their wives and women should submit to their husband to remove hindrances to our prayers.

A higher level of prayer is making a vow to God for His glory.

Job 22:27-28… you will pay your vow… so light will shine on your ways. Vow is normally declared publicly. Psalm 116:14 David a man’s after God’s own heart he pays his vows to the Lord publicly.

God wants to bless us so that we can use it to reach out and be a blessings to others.

Kingdom principle is always progressive

Testimony

A young man of 25 years old fell sick due to a deadly viral attack he made a vow to serve the Lord if God heals him and he got healed and paid his vow. Another young man vowed to give more than giving 10% tithe and God increases His financial blessings upon this businessman, the law of progression takes place in our lives as we obey and stay faithful to our vows.

God wants us to experience His multiplication and His miracles by making a vow, which means a faith promise for the future made to God. A vow relates to a spiritual law of prosperity. It is like God giving us the credit line for us in arrears.

Ps Djohan vowed to dedicate his house in Jakarta to be a house of prayer and his house was renovated debt-free in advance. Every Wednesday, there are people coming over to his to pray.

When is the right time to make a vow to God?

When we have nothing or anything. Genesis 28:20-22 Jacob made a vow if God will be with me ….so that I come back to my father’s house in peace and this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You. God made Jacob to be very wealthy so that he could become His channel of blessing.

When we experience a great loss. It could be our health or finance or relationship. King Hezekiah made a vow that if he lived longer he would serve God for the rest of his life. Read Isaiah 38.

When we are in crisis. Jonah ran away from God’s calling and was swallowed by a huge fish. Jonah 2:9 I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving I will pay what I have vowed Salvation is of the Lord. After Jonah declared his vow the big fish spitted him out and God used him to win the town of Nineveh.

Making a vow is bringing forward our future blessings to “now”. It causes God to command His blessings to come to us in advance for His glory.